Alysa’s Comments (group member since Jun 27, 2015)

Alysa’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I like tasks and spell-it-outs, and sometimes scavenger hunts.
I tend to avoid stories and bingo, at least when I've encountered them in Solo Challenges.

Not quite a “long” book but I will use this Bingo as a reason to finally read The Half-Drowned King.
It is not really my thing, but the author is an old friend of mine and not reading her books makes me a BAD FRIEND.

ETA: Hah! Version on Scribd is much longer than HC! I will read that instead :D

I do not, so I am glad there is something for everyone, between all these different mini-challenges.

I am looking at the words, and at my long books, and going 😕

In my relatively limited experience of Sanderson, it seems like he's good with First Books In A Series, but then I'm not really interested in the rest of the series.

Except for The Rithmatist, which... probably won't ever get a second book! o_0

In December BOM news...
won the poll by a landslide! Yay!


(And FWIW, The Ten Thousand Doors of January won for YA, but won’t be part of TT)

New mini challenge for next week!
It’s Avarice Bingo!

Jessi and I are still working out some details before Team Ira strategy announcement, but y’all can go check it out in the meantime.

Liked but didn’t love.
I would not have put it on the Bad Books list, but there were things about it that annoyed me mixed in with the things I liked.
And the ending, not a fan.

Finished Feed last night. Stayed up too late, because I was so close to the end... and then WTF WITH THAT ENDING.
Liked the book but did not love it, overall. But the ending pissed me off. I wish I had just gone to sleep earlier and saved the last few chapters for this morning. 🤨

Just finished Feed.
Must sleep now 😴

Looks very purple to me too.
Even if it looks more brownish in person I'm not sure we'd get away with that.

I'd say Mini-Challenge or Purple Cover.
Genre-wise, it's YA or Contemporary.

DQs Day 5: Chapters 79-98

20. Why do you think all the victims were from abusive or neglectful homes? And how do you think the minister Rosa Hartem ties into these chestnut men? Is it more than just her daughter’s “disappearance”?

I think the killer is punishing abusive, neglectful, or unobservant mothers, having been the victim of abuse him/herself. I think the killer either doesn't like Rosa's system for reporting abuse, or perhaps -- if Rosa's children were also abused, neglected, or at least perceived by the killer as having been abused or neglected -- the killer sees Rosa as a huge hypocrite deserving of suffering and death.

21. I find the character of Lunas Becker fascinating. I think he makes a great scapegoat for the crime of Katherine’s disappearance, and he seems to know something about The Chestnut Man.. What did you think about the interview Thulin and Hess have with Lunas Becker in the facility for the criminally insane?

That was super creepy! Good scene. I tend to like prison stories and scenes and that was an interesting one, albeit very brief. The dude is definitely criminally insane, even if not in precisely the way that the doctors and guards think he is! I don't know if the book will manage to explain his full involvement in the "Chestnut Man" scheme though. It seems like the real killer or killers promised him something in return for his false confession.

22. Eskar Neergord and his wife Benedicta come up with a plan to infiltrate the Minister’s house by having Eskar hired as her private driver. That gives him direct access to her son Gustav, and when things start to go awry, Eskar and Benedicta decide to kidnap him. At the same time, the police broke into Eskar and Benedicta’s home and find all sorts of photos of the minister’s house. Do you think they are involved somehow with the chestnut dolls showing up?

Total red herring. They may have made the initial calls to the abuse hotline, and they clearly have it in for Rosa, to the point of kidnapping Gustav but not to the point where they'd be killing people. I think the real killer got lucky being able to use them as a distraction.

23. Hess appears to be the only one in the room who thinks Eskar and Benedicta are not involved in the murders of the women, even if they are involved in the kidnapping. As he looks around the command room, he seems to think they are all still dancing to invisible strings in the air. Why do you think Hess thinks that and do you agree?

I agree with Hess that those two are not capable of the master planning involved in the murders of the 3 women, and that the real murderer is still out there manipulating events.

24. Eskar is able to stop Benedicta from hurting Gustav when they pull off into the woods. Then a strange car pulls off into the woods behind them and someone starts walking up. Later we find that both Eskar and Benedicta are dead outside the van, and the boy was saved by the task force that arrives. Who do you think followed the couple into the woods and killed them? Do you think it could be Frederick Vogel the minister’s advisor?

I think that Vogel is another red herring. I have one other idea as to the identity of the killer but it would be waaaaaay too convenient and even I don't think this book is THAT dumb. I guess we'll see soon enough!

25. Who do you think put the cut off hands and feet in the mini-fridge in the slaughterhouse?

See previous answer. But either the real killer did it, or had a partner or minion do it.

@Christina - I think you mean "Day 6" (but today is Nov 7)...
I was just very confused for a moment ;D

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "I finished a "bad book", The Girl With All the Gifts. Personally I thought it was great! I'm not a big zombie person but this one had a storyline and intriguing characters, not just..."

I really liked that book too!
Though the author's immediate follow-up, Fellside, was not very good.

Reminder!
Polls are still open for the adult December BOM!
Closes tonight, 11:59PM PST.

Seems like most of our team is in for Ninth House. Vote for whatever you want, but it could be nice to tip the scale :D

I have a good story idea, hence what's in the first section of the Part 1 area of planning spreadsheet. I will post the "full text" once more of the books are completed.

But if anyone else would like to take a crack at writing a story using our listed books, please do post here!


In the meantime, I should be finishing 2 books today. If I pause on The Chestnut Man, I can squeeze in the additional 2, 1 of which I've I added just for story completion :D Eh, I will probably just finish TCM. I would like to get it done and stop feeling icky from reading it!

Ozana, you have good reading plans! I will add both of the R.F. Kuang books to the spreadsheet. And of course Jessi and I will add your other books, as you tell us when.

For my birthday, my partner got me some really good new headphones, so I can have a better Audiobook experience too :D

I added an “Adjective” book, since we didn’t have enough for a story, though there’s a chance it means I won’t finish The Chestnut Man this week (which is not a big deal anyway).

If we absolutely need it, I think I could add another short book, for which I would have to choose between a second “Adjective” book (otherwise Blue cover), and something else that looks better and has a great title for the “What the World Said” bit, and would not otherwise be a color cover.

I can wait another day or two to decide. I am going to finish other stuff in the meantime. We usually get a bunch of spreadsheets additions towards the end of the week anyway. 🙂

Definitely blue.
Could potential be used for the “story” but in the meantime, put it for Blue :D

That is adorable.

@Allison -- how's it going on Interstellar? Any explanations yet?
:D